Luna Iactus
Parts 7 and 8
VII.
[Chorus]
Hark, listen well, to a tale of daring,
Of brave men soaring through the heavens, faring
To reach for the moon, to touch its bright face,
And leave a lasting mark in the human race.
The pressure sensor in an oxygen tank, awry,
The EECOM's request, stirring fans to try,
To destratify the tanks, to make them even,
But fate had another plan, a blow that was grievous.
Ninety-five seconds after the fans were activated,
A loud bang was heard, communication was abated,
Telemetry to Earth, lost for a moment,
A brief silence, as if the universe were dormant.
Swigert spoke up, to Houston he said,
"We have a problem," and fear did spread,
Lovell reported, Main B Bus undervolt,
A moment that could halt their mission's growth.
The undervolt meant that the fuel cells' power,
Insufficient to support the system's tower,
Two of the fuel cells had met their end,
Mission rules forbade progress, they had to suspend.
Several unusual readings, appeared after the crash,
Empty tank 2, tank 1 pressure quickly fell in a dash,
A reset computer, a non-working antenna, a gas venting
Into space, a sign of danger, the situation was impending.
The remaining fuel cell, drawing from the surge tank,
Would die within two hours, a fact that did rank,
The mission's goal now, to bring the crew back alive,
Theirs was a battle, one that they had to survive.
The crew, Lovell, Haise, and Swigert, brave and true,
Their courage and determination, shining through,
Working with Houston, through the thick and the thin,
Each one of them determined to win.
They improvised, used their skills, and their wit,
Fixing problems, bit by bit,
Their mission was perilous, but they never quit,
And finally, their return to Earth, a perfect fit.
Against all odds, they had made it back,
A story of triumph, a heroic track,
Their bravery, courage, and skill,
The world had witnessed, a victory fulfilled.
Let their story be told, through generations,
Of men who dared to reach the heavens, without hesitation,
Their mission may have had an abrupt end,
But their triumph and spirit, forever will transcend.
Hear now the tale of Apollo's fated flight,
A journey bold, set 'gainst the endless night.
From Earth's embrace, to lunar realms afar,
Three souls embarked, 'neath heaven's watchful star.
In April's keep, nineteen seventy's year,
The world did watch, with hope and silent fear.
Apollo 13, by human hands prepared,
A vessel of dreams, through starry oceans fared.
Jim Lovell, captain, seasoned in cosmic sea,
With Swigert, Haise, a dauntless trio, free.
Their chariot, Odyssey, through the void did sail,
Bound for the moon, with courage to prevail.
But fate, unyielding, in the cold expanse,
Struck with cruel hand, a dire circumstance.
An oxygen tank, in violent rupture cried,
Leaving dreams adrift, and hopes to be tried.
“Houston, we've had a problem,” Lovell's voice rang clear,
Across the void, to Mission Control's ear.
The moon, once close, a dream now out of sight,
Survival's challenge, in the endless night.
In Houston's halls, the minds of Earth did race,
To bring her sons from cold celestial space.
A tale of ingenuity, of spirit unbowed,
Against the odds, in the silent shroud.
With carbon dioxide rising, breath by breath,
They faced the specter of a cold, quiet death.
But with crafted hands and minds aligned,
A solution in their dire straits they'd find.
Lunar Module Aquarius, their lifeboat in the dark,
Against the current of disaster, they'd embark.
Across the vast, black ocean, they'd gently glide,
Back to the cradle of humanity, Earth's blue tide.
Through trials many, the crew's bond never broke,
Their will unshaken by the cosmic stroke.
From peril's grip, with courage, they would steer,
Guided by a constellation of hope, not fear.
At last, the burn to set their course for home,
Through Earth's fair sky, no more in void to roam.
Odyssey, her shield scorched, through the atmosphere tore,
To gentle seas, where safety lay in store.
The world did watch, as parachutes did bloom,
A sight of relief, dispelling doubt and gloom.
In Pacific's arms, they found their journey's end,
Apollo's sons, whom the heavens did commend.
So sing we now, of their journey 'cross the stars,
Of trials faced within celestial bars.
Apollo 13, a testament to humankind,
Their saga etched in the annals of the mind.
[Chorus]
Apollo 13, a quest through the stars' vast expanse,
Three heroes aboard, in fate's intricate dance.
Bound for the moon, in their spacecraft they soared,
Dreams of lunar conquest, in their hearts deeply stored.
Yet destiny's hand, with a twist cruel and stark,
Struck their vessel with fury, igniting a dark spark.
An explosion, a shudder through Odyssey’s frame,
Their voyage to glory, now a survival game.
Service Module battered, vital oxygen bled,
In the cold, silent void, they faced a future dread.
But undaunted they stood, in the face of despair,
With the ground team their beacon, in the black sea of air.
Gene Kranz at the helm, with resolve firm and true,
Guided his team, as their options they'd review.
In Houston's command, a symphony of minds,
Wove a tapestry of hope, as their strategy unwinds.
Aquarius, their ark in the celestial storm,
With its life-sustaining air, a refuge form.
Their systems repurposed, on ingenuity they'd lean,
To breathe life into a journey, now unforeseen.
The path they chose, a sling around the moon,
A journey fraught with risk, a gambler's boon.
The Lunar Module's thrusters, now their guiding light,
In the vast cosmic ocean, a beacon in the night.
Past the moon's silent visage, a stone's throw away,
They grazed lunar heights, where night meets day.
Their names etched in history, by daring's script,
In the chronicle of space, their tale vividly dipped.
Then came the PC+2 burn, a navigator's test,
A move to save hours, in their homeward quest.
To the Pacific's embrace, their sights were set,
Their mission redefined, their goals newly met.
Yet challenges arose, a new trial to face,
Carbon dioxide mounting, a deadly space.
With mismatched filters, the air grew thin,
NASA's earthbound minds spun a solution to win.
Apollo 13, a saga of courage and wit,
A testament to resolve, in adversity's pit.
Their journey, a beacon of human will's fire,
In the annals of the cosmos, their story inspires.
VIII.
[Chorus]
In the wake of Apollo's harrowed plight,
A world united, gripped by their fight.
Across the globe, in every nation's heart,
A collective pulse, as they played their part.
Pope Paul VI, in Vatican’s sacred space,
Led thousands in prayer, a divine embrace.
With hopes aloft, like doves in flight,
For the astronauts' safe return, through perilous night.
In America’s halls, the Senate stood to call,
A moment of silence, for the brave and the tall.
Entrepreneurs and workers, in unison they bend,
Sending prayers aloft, for the journey to mend.
When Apollo 13 broke the ocean's crest,
The world exhaled, in relief expressed.
As Jack Gould penned, for all to see,
A unity found, in a moment of humanity.
NASA's chief, George Low, set forth a quest,
To unravel the snare that had put them to test.
An investigation launched, to scour and comb,
To seek the truth, in their celestial dome.
The service module's tank, where chaos was born,
Its fabric torn, its structure shorn.
Teflon, the unwitting foe, had sparked the flame,
In Apollo's tale, a twist of fate, no one to blame.
The oxygen valves, closed in abrupt finality,
Marked the mission's shift, a new reality.
An abort, they hailed, as Earth held its breath,
Averting a journey into the jaws of death.
The crew, in their mettle, earned the board's acclaim,
Their actions, precise, their honor, untame.
Yet the report unfurled a tale of oversight,
A contractor's lapse, in the pre-flight light.
Beech Aircraft, the maker of the tank at fault,
Underestimated the voltage, a critical assault.
A ground test mishap, a voltage unchecked,
Led to a failure, their journey wrecked.
The tank's fateful drop, an echo in time,
A harbinger of disaster, in its silent chime.
When installed in Apollo, none could foresee,
The catastrophe lurking, in the cosmic sea.
A countdown glitch, a warning unheeded,
The mission launched, with caution unneeded.
The tank, resistant to emptying's call,
Set the stage for Apollo's near fall.
But from this trial, humanity found its voice,
In unity and hope, a reason to rejoice.
Apollo's crew, their saga, a clarion call,
Their survival, the greatest triumph of all.
Now sing we of Apollo, the god of light,
Whose name adorns missions, in the starry night.
A celestial journey, to touch the moon's face,
Leaving humanity's indelible trace.
Armstrong, Aldrin, Collins, their names resound,
In history's halls, their legacies are bound.
Each lunar step, a symbol of our reach,
A reminder that the stars are within our leech.
Their voyage, a beacon of human endeavor,
Inspiring us all, to cease dreaming never.
To aim for the stars, in the night's grand dome,
And carry forth the legacy, Apollo has shown.
So let us remember these pioneers of space,
And continue their journey with grace and pace.
To the stars, we shall look, with dreams anew,
In the footsteps of Apollo, our course we pursue.
Hark, gather 'round and listen to the tale,
Of Apollo 14's celestial sail.
A journey to the Moon, fraught with might,
Where human courage shone ever so bright.
Sing of the stars, and the void's great expanse,
Of Shepard and Roosa, and Mitchell's dance.
Apollo 14, with its crew so bold,
In the annals of space, their story told.
In the cold January of '71's grace,
The Saturn V stood, awaiting its chase.
Shepard, Roosa, Mitchell, a trio of might,
Prepared for their voyage, to the lunar light.
With a thunderous roar, the engines did burn,
Toward the heavens, their eyes did yearn.
Through the stratosphere, into the void,
Towards the Moon, their spacecraft alloyed.
Once in lunar orbit, with precision they flew,
Mitchell and Shepard, a world anew.
Antares, their module, to the surface made way,
In the Fra Mauro highlands, they would stay.
Hear now of the Moon, its silence profound,
Of astronauts' footsteps upon lunar ground.
Their mission of science, to explore and to learn,
In the vast sea of stars, for knowledge, they yearn.
Upon the Moon's surface, Shepard stood tall,
The first of his kind, to play lunar ball.
With a swing of his club, a small golf ball flew,
A moment of lightness, in the cold, dark blue.
Roosa, in orbit, in the command ship alone,
Around the Moon’s face, his journey unknown.
Mapping and watching, his task from the sky,
A sentinel's gaze, where the eagle's eye lies.
Mitchell and Shepard, on the lunar field,
Collected the rocks, the Moon did yield.
Their rambles and toils, in the dust and the stone,
Unearthing the secrets the Moon had alone.
Sing of their return, from the lunar expanse,
Back to Earth’s embrace, from the Moon’s trance.
Apollo 14, with its treasures in hand,
Brought back to our world, the knowledge so grand.
With a blast of their ascent, they left the Moon behind,
Rejoining Roosa, their fates aligned.
Together they journeyed back to Earth's blue sphere,
Their mission accomplished, with the stars still near.
Upon the Pacific's waves, their capsule did rest,
The end of their journey, a triumphant quest.
Recovered and safe, they returned to their home,
Heroes of the cosmos, no more in the stars to roam.
[Chorus:]
So sing of Apollo, of its voyage so grand,
A journey of valor, to the Moon's distant land.
Apollo 14, in the annals of space,
Etched a story of human grace.
From Earth's nurturing cradle, to the celestial sphere,
A tale of courage, overcoming fear.
With science as their beacon, mysteries to unfold,
In lunar landscapes, stark and cold.
Their legacy, a beacon, bright and clear,
A call to all who hold the stars dear.
Inspiring dreams in hearts young and old,
A story of the cosmos, bravely told.
Let their spirit guide us, their tale a fire lit,
To ascend the skies, and never to quit.
In the vast universe, where wonders never cease,
In Apollo's path, we seek our peace.
Chasing horizons, where stars are born,
In the footsteps of heroes, we are not forlorn.
Apollo 14, a chapter of human endeavor,
Their journey in the stars, remembered forever.
With courage, they traversed the silent night,
A testament to human will and might.
In the history of space, their names resound,
In the heart of the cosmos, their stories are found.
So let us follow where Apollo led,
With eyes on the heavens, and no dread.
For in the cosmos, our dreams await,
In the footsteps of Apollo, we find our fate.
Their journey, a symbol of our quest,
To explore, to discover, to never rest.
In the stars, our future is written so bright,
In the footsteps of Apollo, we take our flight.
The poem continues here.